Making formula

[Willow2702]

My 2 week old DD is on formula and we currently make up a batch of hot water to the specified amount in her bottles and let it cool (she prefers room temp bottles) then when she needs a feed we add the formula.
The health visitor has advised us not to do this because the powder is then not sterile? And to make up bottle as we go?
When baby is screaming because she is hungry you have to spend 10 minutes prepping a bottle 😫
We are going to borrow a prep machine but surely it shouldn't be this difficult?
How does everyone else do it?
I'm a very confused first time mum!! So many rules 😫

@Sunrise888 thank-you for the advice I feel much more reassured now. We do have a thermometer to test the water and ready made formula for emergencies

You can make it and keep it out for two hours, if you're making it further in advance than that then cool quickly and store in the back of the fridge.
You don't need to have a routine, but if you know she has a bottle every 2-3 hours you can make sure there is one ready. So if she has a feed at 6 and you know she will probably want another between 8 and 9, make a bottle at 7.30 and chuck anything she hasn't had by 9.30.

I always make a bottle in advance and keep it in the fridge once cooled. Then as soon as she's had her bottle I make another one ready for next time I can usually gage when she's due A feed (we're still getting in to a routine) so get it out the fridge ready for it to be room temp x

The WHO says that you should make a fresh feed each time. However it says that if that is not possible then it says that as long as you have access to adequate refrigeration, you can make 24hrs worth of bottles in advance and keep them in the back of the fridge.

As others have said, the most important thing is that when the formula hits the water is it at 70 degrees.

You are not supposed to add it to cooled boiled water - the water in this country is generally safe to drink safe from the tap. Boiling it to 'sterilise' it and then adding powder which is totally not sterile to it when it is cold is totally pointless.

I have a perfect prep now for baby DS but I always used to make my feeds up in the way you suggested for my older DC. They were never ill.

Congratulations on your little one. I was so confused with feeding at the start too. But probably the most important part is to use water above 70 degrees to dissolve the formula powder, just in case there are any bugs in the powder.
I had a vacuum flask filled with freshly boiled water (refilled three or four times a day).
I also filled up bottles with screw-on lids (which I’d put through the steam steriliser), filled with freshly boiled water, and then put in the fridge to cool. I also filled little pots up with the right number of scoops of powder. (You can buy pots, bottles, screw lids and vacuum flasks easily in the internet!).
Whenever I wanted a bottle, I put the formula powder from the pot into a clean steralised bottle. I dissolved the powder with a small amount of boiling water from the vacuum flask. I then topped it up with the cooled boiled water. And through experience, I knew how much to fill too (it’s slightly more than the number of ounces, as you have to take into account the extra space the powder takes). And you get used to the right proportions (I.e. the least amount of boiling water you need to dissolve the powder) to make a bottle that could be instantly used.
I also took up a tray with the hot water flask, cooled boiled water, and pots of powder to use during the night (and also packed a bag with the set, every time I went out). Honestly, once I got into the routine of refilling a few times a day, it was really easy. No more screaming baby whilst waiting for the bottle to cool down! I even had the tray next to my bed at night, and barely had to move to do a feed! And I think this system follows all the ‘official’ guidelines. I hope this helps, and all the best.

I found the easiest way was basically to copy what the prep machine does. For a 6oz feed I’d boil kettle, add 2oz boiling water to bottle but add six scoops of formula to it, then the remaining 4oz of water would be from the fridge - I’d have 5 bottles of measured out water already prepared for the day.

That way there’s no faffing getting it to the right temp (2 oz boiling & 4 oz fridge cold was perfect temp for us) plus it only takes seconds to make bottle and you’ve killed off any bacteria by adding the formula to boiling.

Exactly what midlander and top biscuit said. Put some cooled water in the fridge to top up from boiling. That's what I did 9 years ago

I just add 1/3 boiling water to formula and the rest cooled boiled water and give it a good shake. Generally perfect temperature. But I always test it.

A quick question. If you follow the rule of making the formula in a small amount of hot water then topping it up with cooled boiled water from the fridge. Do you need to sterilise the flask or bottle that you are storing the water in the fridge in every time you top it up?